Holistic Care for Puppies

June 7, 2010

The following natural remedies can help your new puppy through the early, formative weeks and months of life and alleviate some of the troubles associated with joining a new family and growing into a mature, healthy and emotionally strong young dog.

Anxiety
Chamomile Tea can be used to help calm an anxious pup. Simply brew a cup of tea using one chamomile teabag and pour the brew on her food. This can be a useful holistic tool to help take the edge off when crate training and separation anxiety if you serve the tea a half hour or so prior to alone time.

Chestnut Bud Flower Essence assists with learning and helps a young developing mind to form positive associations. It can also help a young pup to think quickly for himself and sharpen his cognitive skills.

Walnut Flower Essence is useful to support a young puppy during a time of change. The essence helps in socialization and dealing with new experiences.

Mimulus and Larch Flower Essences both help with confidence and a sense of emotional security. These two essences are recommended even if a pup doesn’t appear anxious because they can help to alleviate even minimal feelings of nervousness before they escalate.

Elm Flower Essence helps a puppy cope with the sensory overload of moving to a new home – adjustment to a new routine, different surroundings and family members.

Beech and Wild Rose Flower Essences are good remedies to consider for existing pets in the household who may be unsettled by the arrival of a new pup. These remedies help with acceptance and adjustment.

Diet
New surroundings and separation from littermates can make a new pup reluctant to eat, as anxiety plays havoc with his tummy. Avoid hand-feeding or cajoling your pup. Instead, offer small meals and take them away after 15 minutes even if unfinished.

Even if your puppy had been raised on a food you aren’t comfortable feeding, do stick with his original food for a couple of days and then phase in a new diet gradually; start off with a small amount of the new diet and then increase to half and half – eventually phasing out the old food completely after a week or so.

Digestive Upset
Live-culture yogurt (or another source of probiotics) can help to settle the GI tract Honey can be useful for stimulating the appetite in some cases. Both these foods are useful for occasional puppy tummy upsets and diarrhea, too.

Arsenicum album is excellent for GI upset caused by puppy eating something she shouldn’t, such as garbage, food poisoning or simply eating too much. (But if the consumed object is something non-food based, a trip to the vet may be in order to rule out an obstruction which could represent a serious health concern).

Homeopathic Nux Vomica and Ipecacuanha are useful for vomiting. Carbo Vegetabilis is a homeopathic remedy that’s very useful for occasional gas. Hylands makes a good all-round diarrhea remedy called Diarrex, if you can’t decide which single remedy to use,

A 24 hour fast, withholding food and water, is also helpful for cases of vomiting and diarrhea. Withholding just food is usually recommended for cases of diarrhea without vomiting.

Fleas
Brewers Yeast and Garlic supplements, adding to your puppy’s food, can help with more moderate flea problems that don’t warrant topical medications.

Mange
This results from an excessive multiplication of the mites that live normally in a dog’s hair follicles, when a puppy’s immune system is depleted for some reason. This often happens in a weak pup after excessive vaccination, spaying and neutering.

Soaking the affected areas in a mix of Neem oil (about 15 drops in a bowl of warm water) can be helpful but take care to avoid the delicate eye area. Fortifying the immune system with antioxidants like Vitamin E, as well as Colloidal Silver and a good quality fish oil supplement is also recommended. And a wholesome, natural diet is essential to ensure the immune system is able to restore itself properly.

Puppy Colds
Sneezing and a clear discharge form the eyes and nose may signify a puppy cold. If that’s the case, early administration of homeopathic Aconitum Napellus is useful in the very early stages when symptoms first appear.

Slow Development
Homeopathic Calcium Carbonate is useful for a variety of developmental problems, from slow growth of bones and teeth, joint pain and painful teething to entropion (inverted eyelids) and even anal gland problems and eczema.

Teething
Hylands Teething Remedy for children is an excellent option for pups who are teething and want to chew everything they can get their paws on. This remedy helps with restlessness, irritability and other symptoms related to getting new teeth.

Homeopathic Calcium Phosphate is a mineral-salt remedy that supports the healthy growth of bones and teeth as well as painful joints associated with growth.

Chamomile – some vets recommend steeping a chamomile teabag in hot water and then cooling it in the fridge. Once it’s cold, the teabag can be applied directly to the gums.

Training
Chestnut Bud flower essence helps with healthy cognitive development. Combined with a training regimen based on fair and consistent ground-rules and positive reinforcement, Chestnut Bud can help a pup to think clearly and absorb all the new things he learns.

Thuja occidentalis is a homeopathic remedy that can be given before and after vaccines are administered, and helps to minimize the risk of adverse reactions. Thuja has also been used successfully in alleviating vaccinosis and other less severe adverse reactions after they occur – for example lumps that develop and won’t go away after a rabies vaccine is given.

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